Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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6. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the progress being made to separate Shannon Airport as an independent State airport. [27099/14]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport update the House on the progress made to separate Shannon Airport from the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, to make it an independent, properly constituted airport?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Government decided to separate Shannon Airport from the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, and form a new integrated Shannon entity in public ownership, Shannon Group, comprising the airport and a restructured Shannon Development. The assets, business and employees of the airport were transferred from the DAA to the Shannon Airport Authority, SAA, on 31 December 2012 following approval by both Houses of the Oireachtas of the Shannon appointed day order. The State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014 which provides, inter alia, for the transfer of the SAA and Shannon Development to a public limited company is before the Oireachtas.

A major consideration for the Government in its decision to separate Shannon Airport from the DAA was the serious decline in passenger traffic at the airport in recent years. Shannon Airport was loss making from 2008 to 2012 and passenger numbers plummeted by over 60% from a peak of 3.64 million in 2006 to 1.39 million in 2012.

A consistent decline on this scale was always going to be challenging to address.

The immediate priority for the new SAA board which I re-established last year and management at the airport was to halt this decline. The outturn for last year of 1.4 million passengers marginally exceeded that for 2012 and was a major achievement for Shannon in its first year as an independent airport. It is a tribute to its board, management and staff. With the commencement of new routes and increased services, Shannon Airport is looking forward to new and sustainable growth this year and beyond. Figures for the first five months of the year auger well, with passenger numbers up by more than 10% on the same period last year.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Government's decision to proceed with the legislation currently before the House. It has significant implications for my constituency, where a substantial landbank in County Limerick will be transferred to Shannon Group from what was Shannon Development. Our aspiration is that Shannon Group would, under the Minister's guidance and assistance, encourage the use of this landbank into the future. It is regrettable that it took so long for Shannon Airport to be separated from the Dublin Airport Authority, but it is better late than never. Shannon Airport experienced 14 years of continuous decline during which passenger numbers almost halved. In fairness to its new chairperson, Ms Rose Hynes, and the chief executive officer, Mr. Neil Pakey, it has turned a corner. My concern, from a Limerick perspective, is that the landbank to which I have referred and the broader asset base which is considerable and spread across the county should receive the same level of attention from the CEO and the chairperson. I realise they have other priorities, but I would like to see the focus moving to a consideration of how the asset base and landbank could make the airport even more viable.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The strategy for Shannon Airport is two-pronged, namely, to develop air services and, second, to develop the landbank, particularly those assets located close to the airport. A great deal of interesting discussion is taking place on the asset base and announcements will be made once decisions are reached. I am confident of progress in this regard.

Since Shannon Airport was given its independence, air services have commenced to Malaga, Bristol, Berlin, Munich, Nice, Paris, Warsaw, Krakow, Faro and Fuerteventura. On 4 June Ryanair confirmed that five of these routes will continue through the winter period. In addition, capacity has increased on routes to Boston, New York, Chicago, Birmingham and Manchester.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister give a timeframe for when the legislative process will be concluded in its entirety? In terms of infrastructural improvements required to connect the airport to the wider region, will he provide some detail as to what plans the Department has to make Shannon Airport more accessible to people from the west and mid-west? One of the issues for many years has been the inadequate connectivity from the airport to the wider region. Shannon is not just the international airport for the mid-west but for the entire west coast. Our concern is that it should become the engine and driving force behind real change in the mid-west region. I am interested to hear plans the Minister may have in this regard.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that the Deputy is a major supporter of Shannon Airport. However, it is one of several airports in the west, including Ireland West Airport at Knock and Kerry, Cork and Donegal airports. They all have an important role to play. It is not the case, as people might have feared, that Shannon and Knock airports cannot both do well. It looks like this could be Knock airport's best year ever.

In regard to infrastructure, the Gort to Tuam scheme is under way and expected to be completed in 2018. It will improve access to both Shannon Airport and Ireland West Airport at Knock. The other major project in the region involves improvements to the M20, including the link between Limerick and Cork. That project will be in the mix for the next capital development plan which, however, will not be agreed to until next year.